Xavier announced the hiring of new athletic director Greg Christopher on Monday afternoon.

Christopher replaces Mike Bobinski, who left to become the new athletic director at Georgia Tech.

“I am honored to be joining Xavier Nation,” said Christopher in a release. “The institution’s values and tradition of excellence in both academics and athletics make this a tremendous opportunity. I am thankful for the Xavier administration, especially (President) Fr. Mike Graham and (Vice President) John Kucia, Mike (Bobinski) and the coaches and staff, who have created a strong foundation. This is a distinctive time in Xavier’s history and I am committed to building on its excellence by leading Xavier Athletics with integrity and passion.”

Xavier is about to enter the (new) Big East Conference after the school announced they’d leave the Atlantic 10 for it last week. Christopher comes to the school from Bowling Green State, where he was also the athletic director.

It’s a solid hire for the Musketeers, who, as previously stated, are headed to a new, basketball-only Big East. Christopher has overseen a BGSU basketball program, among the rest of the athletic department, that made an appearance in the 2009 NIT and the 2012 CIT. Meh, it’s Bowling Green State, so that’s about par for the course.

Bottom line: He’ll be the guy responsible for ushering in the Musketeers to the new Big East. So the hire needed to be solid. Looks like Xavier thinks it is.